In our world of constant updates and information, I believe we have to be thoughtful on how we communicate with parents when a “traditional” way serves best. For example, many schools use things like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Remind101, etc., to connect with parents (I can’t believe that I forgot email) and share the story of their school. This is great, but there are a few considerations that I stress to educators.

For example, when an incident has happened with a student, a phone call or in person conversation, is your main go to. Never deliver bad news about someone’s child through email. That is a standard. The other thing that I always consider is that I always call home to a parent when their child has been in my office and talk to them while the child is in the room with me (most of the time but there are times when it needs to be a private discussion with the parent). My assumption is that if a child went home at the end of the day and told their parents they were in the office, minds would begin to race and it could cause an issue when there is none. It also ensures one story. I know that as a kid, if I was in trouble and my teacher never called home, my story was WAY different than the one the teacher would have told.

Telling your story is essential and we have so many mediums to do this now, but it is important to also remember when NOT to use them.

For this week, I want you to talk about some of your communication essentials and ways that you believe are imperative that we communicate with all of these technologies available.